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CDS GK Questions 2026

Static GK carries most of the 100 marks of the CDS General Knowledge paper. Of the 120 questions in the CDS (II) 2026 paper, about 20 were on Indian Polity, about 20 on the History of India, about 15 on Geography and the environment, about 10 on the Indian Economy and about 37 on Physics, Chemistry and Biology, which makes CDS the most science-heavy General Knowledge paper among the major recruitment exams. Polity questions test writs, the NHRC, electoral systems, disqualification of legislators, GST and delimitation. History runs from the Upanishads and the Shunga dynasty to Vijayanagara, temple architecture, the Sylhet referendum and the SNDP Yogam. Geography asks about the atmosphere, earthquakes and tsunamis, Ramsar sites, mangroves and World Heritage sites. Science stays at school level but expects reasoning: a lens problem, a magnetic field direction, molarity versus molality, what cooking soda is, how enzymes act. This page holds GK24's topic-wise GK notes for CDS, written as short facts and tables so that a topic can be revised in one sitting. Read a topic, then solve its previous-year questions and quiz on this site to check what stayed with you.

CDS GK Questions with Answers

Q1922.Computer AwarenessAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2025, GKMedium

What are the uses of software ports ? 1. Connect client computer to server 2. Connect external devices to computer 3. Identify different services like email, file transfer 4. Connecting peripherals like cameras, scanners Select the answer using the code given below :

  1. A.1 and 2
  2. B.1 and 3
  3. C.2 and 3
  4. D.2 and 4
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1 and 3

A software port is a logical number, not a physical socket, so it is used for network connections and for telling services apart.

Q1924.Art & CultureAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2016, GS Paper IHard

With reference to the cultural history of India, the memorizing of chronicles, dynastic histories and epic tales was the profession of who of the following?

  1. A.Shramana
  2. B.Parivraajaka
  3. C.Agrahaarika
  4. D.Maagadha
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Maagadha

In ancient India the Magadhas were professional bards. Along with the Sutas, they memorised and recited genealogies of kings, dynastic histories and heroic tales, and sang the praises of rulers at court and on ceremonial occasions.

Q1925.Environment & EcologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2017, GS Paper IMedium

The term 'M-STrIPES' is sometimes seen in the news in the context of

  1. A.Captive breeding of Wild Fauna
  2. B.Maintenance of Tiger Reserves
  3. C.Indigenous Satellite Navigation System
  4. D.Security of National Highways
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Maintenance of Tiger Reserves

M-STrIPES stands for Monitoring System for Tigers: Intensive Protection and Ecological Status. It was introduced by the National Tiger Conservation Authority around 2010, with technical support from the Wildlife Institute of India, for use in tiger reserves.

Q1926.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2022, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, consider the following statements : 1. A coastal state has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from baseline determined in accordance with the convention. 2. Ships of all states, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea. 3. The Exclusive Economic Zone shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. Which of the statements given above are correct ?

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.2 and 3 only
  3. C.1 and 3 only
  4. D.1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 1, 2 and 3

All three statements repeat the words of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, adopted in 1982 and in force since 1994.

Q1927.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2016, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to the economic history of medieval India, the term 'Araghatta' refers to

  1. A.bonded labour
  2. B.land grants made to military officers
  3. C.waterwheel used in the irrigation of land
  4. D.wasteland converted to cultivated land
Show answer
Correct answer: C. waterwheel used in the irrigation of land

Araghatta was the name for a water-lifting wheel used to irrigate fields in early medieval India.

Q1928.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2018, GS Paper IMedium

Which one of the following is an artificial lake?

  1. A.Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu)
  2. B.Kolleru (Andhra Pradesh)
  3. C.Nainital (Uttarakhand)
  4. D.Renuka (Himachal Pradesh)
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu)

The star-shaped lake at the heart of the Kodaikanal hill station in the Palani Hills was made by people, not by nature.

Q1929.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper IHard

With reference to Indian judiciary, consider the following statements : 1. Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act as a Supreme Court judge by the Chief Justice of India with prior permission of the President of India. 2. A High Court in India has the power to review its own judgement as the Supreme Court does. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Both 1 and 2

Article 128 of the Constitution lets the Chief Justice of India, with the previous consent of the President, request any person who has held office as a Supreme Court judge to sit and act as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Q1930.Science & TechnologyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2017, GS Paper IEasy

What is the application of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Technology ?

  1. A.Production of biolarvicides
  2. B.Manufacture of biodegradable plastics
  3. C.Reproductive cloning of animals
  4. D.Production of organisms free of diseases
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Reproductive cloning of animals

Somatic cell nuclear transfer, or SCNT, is the technique used to clone an animal. Scientists take an egg cell and remove its nucleus.

Q1931.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2018, GS Paper IMedium

Which of the following led to the introduction of English Education in India ? 1. Charter Act of 1813 2. General Committee of Public Instruction, 1823 3. Orientalist and Anglicist Controversy Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.1 and 3 only
  4. D.1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 1, 2 and 3

All three were steps on the road to English education in India.

Q1932.Static GKAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2022, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following countries: 1. Armenia 2. Azerbaijan 3. Croatia 4. Romania 5. Uzbekistan Which of the above are members of the Organization of Turkic States ?

  1. A.1, 2 and 4
  2. B.1 and 3
  3. C.2 and 5
  4. D.3, 4 and 5
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 2 and 5

The Organization of Turkic States brings together countries whose main languages belong to the Turkic family. It began in 2009 as the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, often called the Turkic Council, under the Nakhchivan Agreement, and took its present name in 2021.

Q1933.Indian HistoryAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2018, GS Paper IHard

Which one of the following statements does not apply to the system of Subsidiary Alliance introduced by Lord Wellesley?

  1. A.To maintain a large standing army at other's expense
  2. B.To keep India safe from Napoleonic danger
  3. C.To secure a fixed income for the Company
  4. D.To establish British paramountcy over the Indian States
Show answer
Correct answer: C. To secure a fixed income for the Company

Earning a steady income was not the purpose of the Subsidiary Alliance. Lord Wellesley, Governor-General from 1798 to 1805, used the system to bring Indian states under British control without fighting a war for each.

Q1934.Indian PolityAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper IMedium

A legislation which confers on the executive or administrative authority an unguided and uncontrolled discretionary power in the matter of application of law violates which one of the following Articles of the Constitution of India?

  1. A.Article 14
  2. B.Article 28
  3. C.Article 32
  4. D.Article 44
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Article 14

Article 14 guarantees equality before the law and the equal protection of the laws.

Q1936.GeographyAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2022, GS Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements : 1. High clouds primarily reflect solar radiation and cool the surface of the Earth. 2. Low clouds have a high absorption of infrared radiation emanating from the Earth's surface and thus cause warming effect. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.2 only
  3. C.Both 1 and 2
  4. D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Neither 1 nor 2

Both statements swap the roles of high and low clouds. Low clouds such as stratus and stratocumulus are thick and bright from above.

Q1937.Indian EconomyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2020, GKMedium

Which one of the following is not correct about Repo rate?

  1. A.It is the interest rate charged by the Central Bank on overnight loan.
  2. B.It is the interest rate paid by the commercial banks on overnight borrowing.
  3. C.It is the interest rate agreed upon in the loan contract between a commercial bank and the Central Bank.
  4. D.It is the cost of collateral security.
Show answer
Correct answer: D. It is the cost of collateral security.

The repo rate is an interest rate, not the cost of the collateral. Under a repo, short for repurchase agreement, a commercial bank sells government securities to the central bank and agrees to buy them back, usually the next day, at a slightly higher price.

Q1938.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2021, GKEasy

Identify the crop on the basis of the following characteristics: 1. It is a kharif crop. 2. Aus, Aman and Boro are its three different growing periods in an agricultural year. 3. About one-fourth of the total cropped area of India is under its cultivation. Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  1. A.Wheat
  2. B.Rice
  3. C.Pulses
  4. D.Cotton
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Rice

Rice is mainly a kharif crop, and in West Bengal and the neighbouring states farmers grow three rice crops in a year: aus in the pre-monsoon and early monsoon season, aman in the main monsoon season with a winter harvest, and boro in winter and spring.